


That's the Plan

by WhiskersandQuiff



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: 10 Years, Anniversary, Celebrations, Established Relationship, Fluff, Food, Friendiversary, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-04-07 01:15:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19074505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiskersandQuiff/pseuds/WhiskersandQuiff
Summary: “Do you think you and Phil will be best friends forever?”“That’s the plan”





	That's the Plan

**Author's Note:**

> I’m a teensy bit late whoops but June 2nd, 2019 was apparently the 10th anniversary of Phil first replying to Dan and so I thought “what if this is the day they recognize as their friendiversary” and here we are

**2010**

For the first anniversary of the day Phil replied to Dan, they were in Portugal on holiday. 

It was their last day before they had to leave and each go home. It had been a busy and exciting trip spent in close company with Phil and he so wished they could stay together like that forever, but he also was looking forward to having nothing to do. As fun as the trip had been, Dan was reaching the end of his energy from all the activity they’d done.

But, as it was their last day there, they decided to make the most of it. They toured the city, taking pictures all the while. Neither of them wanted to post the pictures anywhere; these photographs would be a sacred vault of memories of their time together. In these pictures, they could be as affectionate as they wanted. They usually weren’t too concerned anyway, only refraining from blatant PDA in what the put online, but it felt good to be so carefree. 

That night, they went to a restaurant with outdoor seating and a lovely view of the city. They couldn’t afford anything too nice after what they’d spent on the trip itself, but it was warm and comfortable and perfect. 

They exchanged sappy words about how glad they were to know each other and how excited they were for the future. Later, neither would remember exactly what was said, the words escaping into the warm night air and leaving behind only the impression of giddy love, and that was plenty enough for them. 

 

**2014**

By their fifth anniversary, they had lived together for three years. Their careers were taking off, exciting ideas were swirling in their minds and the quiet space of their flat in London. 

Dan woke up that morning to find himself alone in bed, an unusual occurrence given Phil’s adoration for morning cuddles. He glared at the cold sheets as though they had something to do with Phil’s absence. When that didn’t magically make Phil appear, Dan sighed in annoyance and rolled over to find his phone on the bedside table. He pulled up Phil’s name on his phone and sent him a text. 

**Where r u I want cuddles**

Not long later, Phil’s reply came in. 

_XD guess you’ll have to come to the north for that_

Dan’s brow furrowed. The north? Phil hadn’t mentioned visiting his parents recently. 

**What are you on about**

While he waited for a response, Dan looked around the room. It didn’t _seem_ like Phil had packed a bag and left while Dan was asleep. His eyes kept scanning and finally settled on a piece of notebook paper taped to the door. It appeared to be a sign and read “Wokingham”. 

_Lol you’re in wokingham, im very far away? Did you somehow forget?_

**You’re a dork**

With a groan, Dan rolled out of bed and opened the door. On the floor was a cardboard box, open so Dan could see the carpet. At least, _some_ of the carpet. Most of the floor of the hallway was lined with more cardboard. All along the cardboard, Phil seemed to have drawn lines that Dan had to imagine were supposed to be train tracks. The side of the box read “Train: Reading to Manchester”. 

Dan fondly rolled his eyes before leaning forward out of the doorway to see what other surprises waited down the hall. An incoming text interrupted his inspection. He glanced down at his phone. 

_(Step in the box and walk down the hallway to find me)_

Dan sighed dramatically. Down the hall, he called, “You’re ridiculous, you know that?” When he got no answer, he sighed again but did as he was told. The box was tall enough that he had to hold it up around himself by the edges, which wasn’t a very comfortable handhold, but he resigned himself to it anyway as he shuffled down the hall. 

For a fleeting moment, he considered how ridiculous he probably looked and the fact that Phil wouldn’t even see whether he wore the box or not. It was exactly what he needed: another reminder of the fact that Phil could ask him to do anything and he would agree in a heartbeat. 

At the end of the hallway was the lounge, or rather “Manchester”, given the sign on the door. Dan set the box down and flexed his fingers for a moment before pushing the door to “Manchester” open. 

Phil had converted the lounge to a mockery of his first apartment. The sofa was still against the wall but now had Phil’s duvet and pillow resting on it like a made-up bed, a single small table next to it. He had rearranged the furniture so everything felt smaller and more cramped together, blocking off an entire wall with stacked-up furniture. On the coffee table (since their dining table had been sacrificed for the sake of the set) was a stack of fluffy pancakes, a Starbucks coffee, and a rather large bouquet of flowers. Origin of Symmetry was playing quietly in the background. 

Sat on the floor next to the coffee table was Phil, hair pushed back and still in his pyjamas. 

“Surprise!” he giggled. “Happy friendiversary!”

Dan grinned. “You’re _such_ a nerd.”

“A nerd you stalked and harassed for months,” Phil reminded him teasingly. 

“Yeah, well, you’re the one who replied to a stalker so…” Dan trailed off, raising his hands as if to say _so there you go_. 

“Just sit down and eat your pancakes, Howell.”

Dan complied and they ate quietly for a while until he spoke up again. 

“Thank you for this, Phil,” he began. “It’s cheesy as hell, of course, but it’s really sweet of you.”

Phil smirked. “As if cheesy romantic gestures bother you.” 

“Oi, shut it,” Dan warned, though it lost its effectiveness when he giggled. “Somehow, I think I kinda like you.”

“Wow, Dan, thanks for that,” Phil deadpanned. 

“Okay, okay! I love you. Like, a lot. And I’m really glad you decided to talk to me.” He tried to keep his tone just a tad snarky, wanting to stay away from too much of a true display of emotion, but the soft smile that grew on his lips gave him away. 

Phil leaned in over the table. “I love you, too,” he whispered. He kissed Dan gently, pulling back after only a brief moment. 

Dan whined and reached forward to grab the front of Phil’s pyjama shirt and pull him back in. Phil let him, laughing into the kiss. 

When they came up for air a while later, Dan breathed, “Happy friendiversary, Phil,” before diving back in for more. 

 

**2019**

Their tenth anniversary was special only in that they both took the day off. They’d had an exciting night just before, having seen Muse live for the fifth time. They’d used their anniversary as an excuse, but really they both knew what they wanted for their anniversary this year: peace and quiet together. 

The day began slowly with cozy cuddles. Closeness had always been important to them, amplified by the difficulty they’d had finding a time and space to be close on tour. Even though the tour had been over for so many months, they still remembered all too well how separate they had to be in that time. They were no longer making up for lost time, but they couldn’t seem to kick the habit of clinging to each other any chance they got. 

They finally got out of bed when they got too hungry to ignore their rumbling stomachs any longer. In the kitchen, they moved in perfect synchronization with the muscle memory of years of such a routine. They sat on the sofa watching their current anime, Dan resting his head on Phil’s shoulder when he finished eating. 

Ten years on and anniversaries didn’t mean the same thing anymore. They were still important and still meant a lot, but not in the same way. Now, staying together for more years didn’t seem like a surprising accomplishment but rather a promising, stable future. Anniversaries like this, then, didn’t need grand gestures, cheesy celebrations (although Dan did still love those), or even words. All they needed was each other. 

**Author's Note:**

> I also post to my Tumblr! See the rest of my fics [here](https://whiskersandquiff.tumblr.com/fics-masterlist)


End file.
